Miso Chicken Ramen with a Fried Egg
- Total Time30 minutes
- Yield2 bowls 1x
A 30-minute miso chicken ramen finished the way we plate Ramen Original at The Cozy Bowl: a soft fried egg and two slices of meat on top. Deep, savoury broth without the all-day simmer.
Ingredients
For the miso broth
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 15g fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1.2 litres good chicken stock
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 3 tbsp white miso paste
For the chicken
- 400g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
For the bowls
- 2 nests dried ramen noodles (about 180g)
- 2 pak choi, halved lengthways
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 large eggs
To finish
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp crispy fried onions
- Chilli oil, to taste (optional)
Instructions
Build the broth
- Heat the sesame oil in a large saucepan (3 litres or more) over a medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for about 1 minute, stirring, until fragrant but still pale. Browned garlic will make the whole broth bitter, so keep it moving.
- Pour in the chicken stock, add the soy sauce and sugar and bring to a gentle simmer. You want small bubbles around the edge of the pan, not a rolling boil.
Poach the chicken
- Season the chicken thighs with the salt and lower them into the simmering broth. Poach for 12 to 14 minutes, until a thigh cut open at its thickest point shows no pink and the juices run clear.
- Lift the chicken onto a board and rest for 3 minutes, then slice each thigh across the grain into four or five pieces. Keep the two best slices per bowl for the top.
Noodles, greens and egg
- Bring a separate pan of water to the boil and cook the ramen noodles for the time given on the packet, usually 3 to 4 minutes. They should be tender but still have some bite. Drain well and divide between two deep, warmed bowls. Cooking them apart from the broth keeps the broth clear and stops them going soft.
- Drop the pak choi into the simmering broth for 2 minutes, until the stems are just tender and the leaves have wilted, then lift out with a slotted spoon.
- Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the eggs for 2 to 3 minutes, spooning a little of the hot oil over the whites. You are looking for lacy golden edges and a yolk that is still soft.
Finish and serve
- Take the broth off the heat. Ladle two tablespoons of it into a small bowl, whisk in the miso paste until completely smooth, then stir that mixture back into the pan. Do not let it boil again.
- Taste. The broth should be savoury, rounded and slightly sweet. If it tastes thin, add light soy sauce a teaspoon at a time until it lifts.
- Ladle the broth over the noodles. Top each bowl with two slices of chicken, the pak choi, a fried egg, spring onions, sesame seeds and crispy onions. Add chilli oil if you want heat. Eat straight away, while the noodles still have bite.
Notes
Make ahead. The broth is better made in advance. Cool it quickly, chill it within two hours and keep it covered in the fridge for up to two days, in line with standard UK food safety guidance. Reheat until piping hot, then stir the miso in off the heat at the very end.
The mistake to avoid. Boiling the miso. It flattens the flavour and can leave the broth grainy. Off the heat, whisked into a little liquid first, always.
A swap that works. Sliced beef instead of chicken, which is closer to the beef version of Ramen Original. Freeze a piece of sirloin for 30 minutes, slice it as thinly as you can and drop it into the hot broth for 30 to 60 seconds just before serving.
Equipment. A large saucepan of at least 3 litres, a second pan for the noodles, a frying pan for the eggs, a fine grater or microplane for the garlic and ginger, a slotted spoon, and two deep bowls warmed with hot water before serving.
Allergens. This recipe contains soya, wheat (gluten), egg and sesame. Some miso pastes and stocks also contain fish. Always check the label of every ingredient you use, as recipes and allergen information can change. People with food allergies or intolerances must also consider cross-contamination.
This is a home recipe inspired by Ramen Original at The Cozy Bowl. It is not the restaurant’s exact commercial recipe.